Scottish Government publishes Mental Health and Capacity Reform delivery plan
- Area of Work: Policy and Research
- Type: News Item
- Published: 5th June 2024
A delivery plan for the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme setting out a range of actions that are underway or planned.
The ALLIANCE welcomes the publication of the Scottish Government’s Mental Health and Capacity Reform delivery plan October 2023 to April 2025.
In June 2023, the Scottish Government committed to establish the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme in response to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review (SMHLR) within the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to bring changes that give people greater control over their lives, care and treatment.
This initial plan is an important first step in describing the the strategic aims of the Programme and the work that is underway or will be immediately progressed to improve how human rights are protected and upheld through our law, policies and practices.
It includes initial actions and milestones between October 2023-April 2025 and details the Scottish Government team that is responsible for delivery. Future plans will seek to include activity in partnership and at local level, including any actions that will be led by or with NHS Health Boards, Local Authorities, third sector organisations and other partners.
The Programme will focus on achieving three strategic aims:
- Law Reform: to strengthen human rights protections in mental health and capacity law
- Improving Support: to further embed a human rights based approach within services and wider systems of support
- Strengthening Accountability: to ensure that there are strong systems of accountability for upholding human rights
It is widely recognised that people with lived experience of mental health conditions in Scotland do not enjoy their human rights as fully as they could, and that barriers exist for unpaid carers in supporting people living with mental health conditions.
As we said in we said in our response to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, among other recommendations, any reform of Mental Health Law should be based meaningfully on the experiences and expertise of people with lived experience, unpaid carers, and the third sector to ensure that everyone’s human rights are met.
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